


Back to the Past, Again!

by Nef4r1ous



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst, How Do I Tag, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Self-Indulgent, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:07:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24418612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nef4r1ous/pseuds/Nef4r1ous
Summary: After growing up with Twoie by his side, Steven wonders if he's living up to the expectations of his big brother, and wonders what he could do to help the younger him.--This AU is inspired by Flynn's Time Travel AU: http://sutimetravelau.tumblr.com I urge you to look at the AU it is AMAZING.
Comments: 28
Kudos: 81





	1. How it all started

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Into the Universe](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22139770) by [flynnaw00](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flynnaw00/pseuds/flynnaw00). 



> Ok well, I'm not 100% sure where I'm going with this and I havent been able to write anything for a long time, not to mention the fact that my previous fandom was very small, so I'm very nervous about posting this! But here we go anyways!

Steven often missed Twoie, it had been a few years since Twoie returned to his own timeline, and after Steven dismantled the gem empire, (with far less consequences on Steven’s part thanks to Twoie’s help) he had began his journey of self discovery. He was now 17 years old, which was pretty close to Twoie's age when he first arrived in Steven's timeline. 

Steven wore a pink varsity jacket, similar to Twoie's, over the top of a white t-shirt with a star on it. He wore his signature cuffed jeans with his red sandals. He had yellow star earrings dangling from each ear along with pink studs besides them. He didn’t want to dress exactly like Twoie, but Steven was aware that his style was greatly inspired by his older brother, and the way he had dressed when he came to Steven's past. 

Somewhere along the way on Steven's journey of discovery, he came across a lone gem artifact, and he had been holding onto it for a few weeks now. He kept it in the front of his car, where he could always see it, where he could always keep an eye on it. He knew exactly what he had found the second he came across it, he couldn’t forget about that artifact even if he tried, it had ties to the person that helped Steven through his problems and made everything so much better for him, the person who had tried to sacrifice his own happiness to see Steven happy, his “big brother", Twoie. 

Steven had parked the car and was leaning against the dash, staring at the hourglass, a million thoughts running through his head. He had the hourglass now, does that mean he needed to go back too? Did he need to go back to take on the burden for the younger Steven? 

These were the questions he had been pondering ever since he found the hourglass. Did he need to go back too? What could he do to make everything better?  
A thought popped into his head as he watched the hourglass glinting in the evening sun. Even though Twoie had tried his hardest in the past, it wasn’t enough to stop everything in his past from affecting him. 

That wasn't to say Steven was ungrateful though, he was very grateful for everything Twoie had done for him, and there was only much one person could do to fix the past. And that’s what brought Steven to his current thought process, what if he went back to the past to help out in Twoie's place, to make it even better for the next Steven. 

But Steven did not know how time travel worked and what would happen to him if he went to the past, he never found out what happened to Twoie after he tried to return to his own timeline, so he was wary of what would happen to him when he did. Is this how things were meant to be? Was finding the hourglass a sign? Should he go back again? 

He also wondered what would happen to this timeline without him, how would the time pass? Would the time even pass at all? If he went missing what would happen with the gems? And with Connie. If he left he wouldn’t be able to see Connie until he got back, and he would definitely worry her if he just left without any communication as to where he was going. 

Steven was so deep in thought he lost track of the time and before he knew it the sun was setting, casting pink and purple hues across the evening clouds. He sat on the hood of the dondai and stared up at the pink sky.  
“what would Twoie do?” he wondered aloud as he relaxed against the cool metal of the car. It’s something Steven often found himself doing, comparing himself to Twoie, wondering if he was living up to his big brother, wondering if what he was doing was enough. The gems grew to really like Twoie, and he was a good asset to the team, and Steven often wondered if he had done enough after Twoie left. 

Twoie had warned him about things that would happen in the future, and Steven often felt responsible for not doing enough to prevent those things. There were arguments that could have been prevented, people that could have gotten less hurt, but he was unable to do anything. 

He couldn’t find Spinel in time to stop her from coming to Earth with her injector, he couldn’t stop himself from turning pink and causing problems for everyone, he couldn’t stop White Diamond from—

No, it wasn't his fault, he reassured himself. He needed to stop that train of thought. He remembered what his therapist told him and took deep breaths. 

Maybe when he goes back the next Steven will do far better than he did. Wait—When? He sighed and stood up, the decision seemed pretty clear to him, he knew what he had to do. He knew what he could do to make things better, he needed to help the younger him out, just like Twoie had done for him. 

He stared through the car window at the hourglass, thinking for one last time if he was making the right decision. Is this what he really wanted? Would this really help the timeline out? What if he made things worse again? What if he messed everything up? What if he couldn’t get back to his own time?

He picked up the hourglass, examining it as he continued to think. Would taking him back to the past really be better? Before he could even answer his own question the hourglass lit up in his hand, the glow so bright in the evening light that it blinded him. He shielded his eyes with his arm, which didn’t help much when his arm started glowing as well. 

“oh well" he muttered under his breath before the hourglass whisked him away. “I guess I already made up my mind anyways.”


	2. Nora

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it has been MONTHS and I am so sorry it took this long for me to finish this chapter. I have had so much going on IRL that writing has been at the back of my mind for ages now, and i lost the original chapter 2 as well, so I've written this chapter multiple times already, and i wasn't happy with it until now so uhh, here you go, i hope you enjoy reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it!
> 
> ALSO thank you for reading this?? Coming back to nearly 500 hits, all the kudos and comments, it really helped push me to finish the second chapter. It made me so happy to hear your input and how you were finding the story! This story is the most popular one I have written yet and it makes me so happy that you guys are enjoying it!! Anyways, enough rambling, enjoy the chapter!

Steven and Twoie were watching lonely blade on Steven's bed at Steven’s very insistent request, with both boys huddled underneath a thick blanket, when a blinding light illuminated the space downstairs. With a crash a particular brown haired boy fell to the floor ungracefully, and a small crack noise sounded through the house.

Steven was the first to run down the stairs and greet the familiar stranger who was picking himself up off the floor. “Hello?” He looked up at the stranger who was busy pushing his hair out of his face. “Wait, another Twoie?!” He looked at the familiar face of the older Steven with stars in his eyes. “You have stars in your ears!!” The older boy put his hand up to his ear, feeling the star shaped stud in place. He looked around the room in awe, not paying much attention to the other two boys in the room yet. 

Twoie walked down the stairs slowly, looking at the newcomer with confusion and slight suspicion, who was this new person? Was he from even later in the future? But why did he look younger than him if he was from the future? The newcomer had a younger looking face, though it wasn't overly noticeable. Twoie figured that since the newcomer looked like him, that was why the difference seemed so startling. 

Future Steven broke out of his bewildered trance and took notice of the two boys in the room with him. He looked over at Twoie first, with stars in his eyes and a grin on his face. “I did it?... I did it!” He turned to Steven next, and picked him and spun around. “and look at you! Me?” He quirked an eyebrow as if in deep thought for a moment before shrugging it off. “ This is amazing!”

Steven giggled as he was spun, looking at the new arrival in awe. His happiness was stopped abruptly when Twoie pulled him out of the newcomers arms, wrapping his own arms around him protectively. “Who are you exactly?” He asked quizzically, with a bit of aggression unintentionally laced into his tone.

The new Steven took a step back and studied the two other versions of himself before him. He smiled and locked eyes with Twoie as he pointed to Steven. “I’m Steven of course! Steven from the future!” He looked at Twoie for a second before adding “not future Steven like you, but future Steven like him. This is how I grew up! I'm this Steven from the future!”

The new Steven didn’t miss the suspicious look that crossed Twoie's face as he explained who he was, and he took note of the fact that the older teen may take a while to open up to him. He remembered how the gems were suspicious that Twoie may be a spy when he first arrived from the future so he thought it would only make sense to receive the same suspicions, especially since Twoie would not be expecting another version of himself when the new Steven knew that Twoie did not expect for himself to even end up in the past to begin with.

The new Steven was broken out of his train of thought by the sounds of the younger Steven protesting as he wiggled out of Twoie's hold. He looked at Twoie with worry before moving forward. He stopped when he was standing directly in front of the older Steven. His serious face quickly diminished into his regular happy smile as he put a hand on his chin, deep in thought. “You need a name! Like Twoie, but... Threeven?” he started muttering names to himself until the older Steven stopped him with a chuckle. “I already figured out a name that would probably work best for me if I was going to go back.” He ruffled Steven's hair and crouched down to his level, his arms resting on his knees to help keep his balance. “You’ll be Steven,” he pointed at Twoie. “He's Twoie, of course,” then he smiled and pointed at himself. “and I’ll be Nora!”

“Nora?...” Steven questioned, looking up at the new teen. Where had he heard that name before? He tilted his head to the side as Twoie glanced between the two other versions of himself. Nora smiled as he knelt down to Steven's level. “Nora was the name Mum and Dad picked out for us to have if we turned out to be a girl.” He hummed for a second before continuing. “I like the name, and it’s pretty easy to remember, plus it would be easier to explain to someone compared to Threeven, although I do really like that name too.” He smiled at the young boy as he listed off his reasons. 

Steven smiled at what Nora had said to him, although he was slightly disappointed that the name he chose was not the one that Nora was going to use. He did like the name Nora though, so his disappointment did not stick around for long. He pulled Nora over to the couch and sat him down, saying something about how time travel must be tiring and stressful and that he should probably take a rest. Nora let the younger boy pull him along and sat down on the couch, still looking around the house in awe, not fully processing the situation. The room seemed to grow more tense as Twoie also sat down on the opposite end of the couch, keeping a careful eye on Nora as he looked around the house. Was he looking for something? 

The sound of the nearby clock drumming into their ears was deafening as the boys fell into a silence, no one saying a word. Nora fidgeted with his fingers as he fumbled for something to say, but his mind kept coming up blank. What was he meant to do now that he was there? He didn't even come in with a plan before he had left, he didn't think before he had travelled back. He had the time to think, so why didn't he?! He realised he should have planned more out in advance rather than just acting on impulse.

He bit down on his lip in frustration, annoyed at his lack of strategizing beforehand. Why couldn't he just think ahead? It wasn't that hard to make a plan beforehand, Twoie had always been good at making plans instead of rushing in like he always used to and he had been trying to get better at strategizing like Twoie had so why couldn't he think of plans now too? Why did Twoie have to do everything?! Why couldn’t he just-- 

“-Ra! Nora!” Steven waved a hand in front of the young man's face, breaking his train of thought. “Sorry Steven, what did you say?” The reply came easily, the happy mask he had perfected over the past few years falling into place effortlessly. He smiled down at his younger counterpart. 

“I asked if you and Twoie wanted to play games with me!” He pointed up to his room, to the television and the game consoles surrounding it. The young boy bounced on his feet excitedly, waiting eagerly for Nora’s reply. A wide grin spread across the young boy's features as Nora flashed him a thumbs up and stood up. Steven rushed up the stairs and started setting up the games at lightning speed as the older boys made their way up the staircase. As they made their way up Nora looked at Twoie out of the corner of his eye and realised that they would need to talk, but not now, not around the younger Steven. He shouldn't make the younger boy worry, it could wait. 

\--

Twoie sighed in defeat as his character was knocked to the ground, yet another victory for steven. His thoughts were occupied by the other boy in the room who sat on the other side of Steven, cheering him on at his victory. 

Why was another version of him here? Wasn't it dangerous enough with one time traveller, let alone two? He put down the controller and sighed, lost in his own head. What could happen in the future that would cause Nora to come back in time? Was it an accident, or did he deliberately do it. Was this even a version of Steven at all? 

He looked over at the two boys playing games. Was it wrong to suspect Nora? When the gems had suspected that he was a spy it made Twoie feel awful, but he couldn't help but to feel anxious at the presence of the other boy. This wasn't meant to happen, Twoie wasn't even meant to be back in the past. He was only trying to help now that he was here, and he had already told steven that he wouldn't need to come back in the future. 

Twoie would have to talk to Nora when Steven wasnt around, he needed to find out what he had come back in time for, and he needed to make sure that he was who he said he was, just in case. He just needed to make sure. 

Nora jumped up quickly, struggling to control his floating power and pumped a fist in the air,shouting in victory as Stevens' character fell to the ground, “Player 2 wins!!” displayed on the screen in bright red letters. Steven sighed, putting a hand to his forehead. “Defeat!” He shouted dramatically, flailing his arms around as he fell back onto the bean bag behind him. Nora laughed as he sat back down next to the younger boy, ruffling his hair and smiling at him. “Good game!” Nora laughed as the controller was lightly shoved back into his hands. “I demand a rematch!” Steven loaded up the game again and Nora laughed, picking up the controller and smiling. 

As the new match started the temple door opened, and Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl walked out, muttering quietly amongst themselves. “Garnet! Amethyst! Pearl!” Steven dropped the controller and ran down the stairs, excitedly greeting the gems and talking so fast that no one in the room could understand a word that he said. “Slow down Steven!” Amethyst laughed as she tickled the younger boy, earning a loud laugh from the younger boy. 

Nora peeked over the top of the television as he watched the friendly exchange, catching the eye of Pearl. She looked at Nora, then Twoie, then Steven. Her staring became more frantically as she began to stutter. The other two gems stopped to see what Pearl was blabbering about and Nora nervously waved from behind the television, unsure of how the situation would progress. 

“There’s another Twoie!?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not what a lot of people expected right? Don't worry, we're just getting started :)
> 
> Comments and kudos are appreciated!! Have a great day!

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave kudos and comments if you enjoyed! 
> 
> I feel like I should leave my tumblrs here: 
> 
> Main: https://its-nef4r1ous.tumblr.com 
> 
> Art Blog: https://nefs-art.tumblr.com/
> 
> I might uh... draw some stuff if you guys want?


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